Land's End customers have voiced their anger after receiving a copy of the latest GQ as a free gift with their catalog.

The men's magazine, which features a topless Emily Ratajkowski on the cover, was distributed to select Land's End's subscribers as part of a deal the retailer had with publisher Conde Nast, according to the New York Times.

Angry customers have taken to the brand's Facebook page, saying they were sent 'smut,' 'pornography,' and 'filth.'

Probably not the best partnership! Land's End, a catalog that sells school uniforms and other conservative clothing, send its customers a free copy of GQ featuring a topless Emily Ratajkowski

'My 14-year-old son brought in the mail today and was quite disturbed and fascinated by a "gift" Lands End sent us - a copy of GQ magazine with an absolutely OBSCENE cover!' said one recipient. 'While GQ may have been a reputable magazine at one time, today it seems to have sunken to the level of smut.'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

Another woman said: 'I have 8 wonderful and innocent little grandchildren for whom I purchase a lot of Land's End clothing, not to mention what I buy for myself. If one of them had seen that piece of trash in my mailbox, how would I explain the labels on their clothes?'

One more mother echoed the sentiment: 'What part of me buying cute, age-appropriate kids clothing and a mom swimsuit made you think I wanted a subscription to GQ? My 12-year-old daughter brought in the mail and was quite horrified to see a magazine with a naked woman on the cover.'

Outraged! Sue Skindell Bauman said 'words cannot express' how angry she is with the catalog

Angry! Molly Brown said she wouldn't have been able to explain the GQ to her eight 'wonderful and innocent' grandchildren

Furious! Sally Reed Woodson said her 12-year-old daughter was 'horrified to see a magazine with a naked woman on the cover'

The company's CEO, Edgar Huber, issued an apology yesterday, saying he was 'truly sorry' and that there are 'simply no excuses' for the 'mistake.'

'When we entered into a year-long partnership with Conde Nast,' he said, 'our goal was to reward our valued customers with magazine subscriptions highlighting fashion and lifestyle topics.

'As a company, we are extremely apologetic that you have received this particular magazine on our behalf.'

He said that all subscribers' names were removed from the GQ mailing list, and they would instead be receiving a subscription to Conde Nast Traveler.

While some customers were impressed with the letter, others called it 'canned' or 'formulaic.'

'I think I was even more appalled at the excuse in the form of an apology,' said one customer. 'That they meant it as a gift to their male customers. That is absolutely disgusting and a major disrespect to your female customers.'

Said another: 'Everything these days get diluted to "mistakes." How about a case of just plain "poor judgment" on the part of its execs!'

Apology accepted? CEO Edgar Huber called the action 'a mistake' and there are 'no excuses'

Not forgiven! Nancy Mandil said she was 'even more appalled at the excuse in the form of an apology' that Land's End sent customers

Watch what you say! Mary Lou Gallagher said Mr Huber should've called the company's error 'poor judgment' rather than a 'mistake'

Not everyone was offended, however, and many people are defending the brand's actions, saying 'it's just breasts.'

'A topless woman isn't any more pornographic than a topless man,' said one woman on Facebook's public wall, 'Calling a topless woman pornographic is another form of body-shaming, and I'm thankful I grew up in a home where I was taught that a body is just a body.'

'A topless woman isn't any more pornographic than a topless man'

A man also came to Land's End's defense: 'For some strange reason, partially exposed female breasts apparently seem to have a propensity to irreversibly damage young, innocent minds. Never mind the fact that these same young minds are exposed to blood, gore, war, religious extremism, bigotry, hatred, and violence with every click past a network news channel or daily newspaper cover.'

Provocative! The Emily Ratajkowski images inside the magazine are just as provocative as the cover

It's not a big deal! Krissi Smyla says people are overreacting

Who cares? Make Sanford says children are exposed to things far worse than female breasts

Land's End was founded in 1963, and is based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

Sears purchased the company in 2002 for $1.9 billion in cash, according to CNN.